Summer Reading Kickoff • 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, West Jordan Library, 8030 S. 1825 West, West Jordan. Free live music, entertainers, activities, exhibitors, a giant inflatable playground and crafts for the kids. Sign up for the Summer Reading program at the party.

Who Likes Short Shorts? Film Festival • Friday and Saturday, Post Theater, 245 S. Fort Douglas Blvd. This festival will exhibit high production-value short films, many from around the world but with a focus on Utah productions. Admission $8-$20. Visit http://welikeshortshorts.com for more information.

Family Fun Day And Open House • Noon-4 p.m. Saturday, Camp Kostopulos, 4180 Emigration Canyon. Camp Kostopulos invites families with children with special needs to come to the annual Family Fun Day and Open House. There will be swimming, horseback riding, jump houses, ropes course, fun and food. Call 801-582-0700 x 104 or visit www.campk.org for more information.

Daylong Events • Saturday, Antelope Island State Park, Syracuse. Learn about the history of bison on Antelope Island at 10 a.m., stop by Bridger Bay Beach between 11 a.m. and noon to visit with a park interpreter about lake life and other fun facts. Microscopes will be on hand for viewing and discovering lake wonders. At 7:30 p.m., meet the park naturalist at the White Rock Bay Campground Trailhead for a 3.5-mile round trip hike up to Beacon Knob under the light of the full moon. Admission $9 per car. More information, http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/antelope-island.

Fight For Air 5k Run/walk • 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Sugar House Park, 2100 S. 1500 East. The American Lung Association will sponsor a Fight for Air 5K Run/Walk. More information, www.lung.org/pledge-events/ut/salt-lake-city-walk-fy12/.

National Learn To Row Day • 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Great Salt Lake Marina, 13312 W. 1075 South, Magna. The Great Salt Lake Rowing will host a free public event intended to give participants a "taste of rowing." Those under age 18 need a guardian /parent to sign the waiver. Participants should wear suitable recreational sports clothing. For more information, contact Joe Inman, jrinman48@gaiaexplorer.net or call 801-647-1648.

Comedy Boot Camp • 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, Salt Lake Community College Grand Theatre, 1575 S. State. The Salt Lake Comedy Festival will sponsor a Comedy Boot Camp, a training course that transforms civilians into comedians. Recruits learn about sketch and stand up comedy writing, how to work together as an improv team and what it takes to succeed as a comedian. Visit http://saltlakecomedyfestival.com for a class schedule.

Wasatch Farmers Market at Gardner Village • 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Gardner Village, 1100 West 7800 South, West Jordan. The market will be held every Saturday from June 2 to Sept. 29. Live music, farm-fresh breakfast, 90-plus farmers, artists and more. More information, www.gardnervillage.com.

Fantasy Hair Show • 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Peery's Egyptian Theater, 2415 Washington Blvd., Ogden. This is a creative and imaginative show featuring wild themed hairstyles by the students and staff of Avalon School of Cosmetology. More information, http://egyptiantheaterogden.com/node/107 or 866-472-4627.

Hike to Battle Creek • 9 a.m. Saturday, meet at Out N Back, 1797 S. State St., Orem. Battle Creek is near Pleasant Grove. This hike is great for families so bring the kids. More information, www.meetup.com/Out-N-Back-Events/or 801-224-0454.

Kane County Farmers Market • 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, lawn of the Kane County Office of Tourism, Kanab. The Kane County Farmers Market will be held every Saturday from the last weekend in May through Oct. 13. Fresh fruit and vegetables, crafts, food and food preparation. More information, 435-899-1115.

"Snow White and the Huntsman" is a dark spin on the classic fairy tale, as Snow (Kristen Stewart) goes from imprisoned innocent to Joan of Arc-like warrior princess with the aid of the brawny Huntsman (played by Chris Hemsworth). Stewart and Hemsworth are fine, but the real star of the show is Charlize Theron's turn as the wicked Queen. Director Rupert Sanders adds some stunning visuals, and Colleen Atwood's costumes (particularly for the Queen) are spectacular.

Several independent titles are opening in a few multiplexes today.

• "For Greater Glory" is a heavy-handed historical epic, centering on the Cristeros War  when Catholic rebels fought the socialist Mexican government in the 1920s. The hammy performances (led by Andy Garcia) and cartoonish characters make this one a chore to watch.

• "Battlefield America" is a drama set in an underground hip-hop dance competition. It was not screened for local critics.

• "Crooked Arrows" is an inspirational sports drama, about a Native American high school lacrosse team (coached by Brandon Routh, from "Superman Returns") competing in a prep-school league tourney. It also wasn't screened for critics.

On the art-house list, the highlight is "Headhunters," a gritty and sometimes wacked-out thriller from Norway. It centers on Roger (Aksel Hennie), a corporate consultant who moonlights as an art thief to bring in the cash to keep his trophy wife (Synnøve Macody Lund) happy. Then he meets a CEO candidate (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, from "Game of Thrones") who's as sneaky as he is.

"Virginia" is the directing debut of screenwriter Dustin Lance Black ("Milk," "J. Edgar"), and it's a trippy piece of Southern melodrama about a mentally unstable woman (Jennifer Connelly) having a yearslong affair with a married Mormon sheriff (Ed Harris). The movie gets downright loopy at times, and the tone shifts are jarring. (Black, by the way, is in Salt Lake City this weekend - as grand marshal of the Utah Pride Parade. Read the Cricket's interview with him.)

Lastly, there's "The Salt of Life," a pokey musing on love and lust by Italian writer-director Gianni di Gregorio  who plays the lead character, Gianni, a retiree who feels invisible to the women in his life. Di Gregorio doesn't bring nearly the charm he displayed in his last movie, "Mid-August Lunch," and the episodic story goes nowhere.

Million Dollar Quartet • 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South. This musical tells the story of when Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley played together for a single night. The four young musicians united for an impromptu recording that has come to be known as one of the greatest rock 'n' roll jam sessions of all time. Tickets: $30-$57.50. More information, www.arttix.org/.

CLUBS ETC

Chris Cagle • Country music singer Chris Cagle will headline the 14th annual Pony Express Days closing concert and fireworks, with local favorite Charley Jenkins opening. Cagle signed to Virgin Records Nashville in 2000, and made his debut on the Billboard country chart with "My Love Goes On and On," the first single from his debut album "Play It Loud." The album also yielded hits "Laredo" and "I Breathe In, I Breathe Out." Cagle has in part taken a break from country for something that is more important to him. "I take more pride in being a father than in everything else," he said in a Tribune interview. When he does write songs, he has a simple credo he lives by. "I write a song to change the way your heart feels in three and one-half minutes," Cagle said. "If you have a [political] message, put it on a billboard." But, again, he takes solace in a house where no one else knows where it is and his family. "Everything else besides my family is craziness."

Leland Sundries • As a high-level publicist in New York City, Nick Loss-Eaton worked with artists including Bruce Springsteen, Son Volt, Ry Cooder, Tom Morello, Todd Snider and the late Levon Helm  "all inspirations of mine," Loss-Eaton said in a Tribune interview. But as his indie-folk project Leland Sundries began attracting more and more attention, he left his job to follow his bliss. "It was a pretty hard decision," he said. "It was decision about following my heart." With a group of guys in Brooklyn that are coalescing as the newest incarnation of the band, Loss-Eaton will be performing for the first time in Utah with only one guitarist backing him. But whatever the line-up, Loss-Eaton's music revives the spirit of the band's name, taken from a trip to the South when he met the olds bluesman Eddie Cusic  who taught Little Milton  in Leland, Miss. When traveling throughout Memphis, he noticed the word "Sundries" on a number of signs  something you don't often see as a Yankee. It seems fitting that his first instrument was a harmonica, inspired by Bob Dylan  another hero whose time in the South influenced him for the rest of his life.

When • Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

Where • Vertical Diner, 2280 South West Temple, Salt Lake City

Tickets • Free

Pop Evil • Hard rock group Pop Evil  which as opened for KISS in Utah ‚ will perform, with Janus and Lola Black opening.

When • Friday at 7 p.m.

Where • The Complex, 537 W. 100 South, Salt Lake City

Tickets • $20 at SmithsTix

Provo Rooftop Concert Series - The Moth & the Flame with Desert Noises • The Moth & the Flame crafts lo-fi moody rock at The Provo Rooftop Concert Series. They will play with indie-rockers Desert Noises.

When • Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Where • Provo Town Square, 55 N. University Avenue, Provo

Tickets • Free

Blood, Sweat and Tears • One of the greatest jazz-rock horn bands in the history of popular music performs in Sandy.

When • Friday at 8 p.m.

Where • Sandy Amphitheater, 9400 S. 1300 East, Sandy

Tickets • $15-$25 at SmithsTix

Temple Square Concerts in the Park - Buzztones • The Buzztones, a 17-piece swing band with vocalists, create a big-band sound.

Movies in the park • It's a Utah tradition: Cities along the Wasatch Front offer free family-friendly movies at a park near you all summer.

Salt Lake City: Movies will be shown at parks throughout the city starting with Toy Story on Friday at Liberty Park, 700 East 1000 South. Go to www.slcgov.com/node/462 for the rest of the city's summer lineup. Movies also will be offered on the lawn at the Utah State Capitol starting with Puss in Boots on June 29. Even the popcorn is free at the Capitol's summer movie events. Go to utahcapitolvisitorservices.blogspot.com/2012/05/movie-under-stars.html for the full lineup.

Millcreek: Happy Feet will be shown Friday at Canyon Rim Park, 2900 E. 3100 South. Go to www.canyonrimnews.org/c_ventureoutdoors.html?variable=township for this summer's lineup of movies, which are shown in four different locations within the township.

Magna: The city kicks off its summer movie program with The Muppets on June 15. Go to www.magnautah.org/events/movies-in-the-park/ for a list of all the movies that will be shown.

South Jordan: Outdoor movies are shown throughout the summer starting June 8. Go to www.southjordancity.org/recreation/specialevents-sightsandsounds.asp for more information.

Sandy: The city will show The Adventures of Tintin on June 6. Go to sandy.utah.gov/government/community-events/movies-in-the-parks.html for the full lineup.

Draper: The city's movie lineup begins June 15. Go to www.draper.ut.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={6E9C52DC-BA3B-4A85-9397-86AEAB54CE99} for more information.

Cinemark theaters: Cinemark theaters along the Wasatch Front are offering summer movies for children. Purchase tickets for all 10 movies in the series, which begin in early June, in advance and pay only 50 cents each. Even without advance purchase, tickets are only $1 for each movie. These aren't first-run movies  titles include "Kung Fu Panda 2," "Happy Feet 2" and "Dolphin Tale" among others  but they are shown in an air-conditioned movie theater during the hot summer months. Go to www.cinemark.com/summer-movie-clubhouse-2012 to find participating movie theaters and the lineup at each location.

Water Gardens Theaters/Spanish Fork: The theater starts its summer movie program on May 29. Tickets are $1 each. Go to www.watergardenstheatres.com/spanishfork/summerkidsmovies.asp for more information and for a lineup of movies.

Water Gardens Theaters/Pleasant Grove: Summer movies start on June 5 and cost $1 each. Go to www.watergardenstheatres.com/pleasantgrove/summerkidsmovies.asp for a schedule.

The SCERA Center: The Orem center's summer movie program stats June 4. Tickets are $2. Go to www.scera.org/events/view/62 for more information.

Towne Cinemas: The American Fork theater offers movie tickets for $1.50 each. Go to www.townecinema.com/summermatinees.html for more information.

Lesley Mitchell

TV

Did you see that the battleship USS Iowa is headed for Southern California to become a museum? I was thinking the Sea Shepherds should have bought it because then they'd finally win the Whale Wars (7 and 9 p.m., Animal Planet).

My son, however, pointed out they'd probably just sink themselves. And he's probably right  the Sea Shepherds do seem to have more than their share of troubles, many of them self-inflicted.

While their leader, Paul Watson, often seems to cross the line of ethical behavior, it's hard to argue that the Japanese whalers are not the villains here. And the fact that the Japanese government spent $29 million of tsunami relief funds on "security" for this year's murderous expedition to the Antarctic is infuriating.

The battle begins again. And if you start watching, it's hard to stop.

Elsewhere on Friday •

Fairly Legal (10 p.m., USA): Kate and Ben head for Lake Tahoe to try to settle a dispute.

Common Law (11 p.m., USA): Wes and Travis suspect a woman's murder is tied to a dating website.

Girls (11:30 p.m., HBO): Jessa and Marnie meet a guy who is not what he seems.

Teen Wolf (midnight, MTV): This goofy, scary, funny, entertaining series returns for a second season.

Scott D. Pierce

Share This Article

ARTICLE PHOTO GALLERY

USER COMMENTS

Reader comments on sltrib.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Salt Lake Tribune. We will delete comments containing obscenities, personal attacks and inappropriate or offensive remarks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. If you see an objectionable comment, please alert us by clicking the arrow on the upper right side of the comment and selecting "Flag comment as inappropriate". If you've recently registered with Disqus or aren't seeing your comments immediately, you may need to verify your email address. To do so, visit disqus.com/account. See more about comments here.